Sports Mole previews Wednesday’s Asia Cup match between Bahrain and Japan, including predictions, team news and expected line-up.
The last day of the round of 16 matches. asia cup starts from bahrain undertake Japan Wednesday at Al Thumama Stadium.
A 1-0 win over Jordan in the third round was enough for Bahrain to finish first in Group E with six points, the same as Japan, but the four-time Asian Cup champions won 3-1. Despite the win, they finished 2nd in Group D. Against Indonesia.
match preview
©Reuters
After suffering a crushing defeat to South Korea in the opening match, Bahrain bounced back admirably and won their final two matches 1-0, finishing top of their group for the first time in this tournament.
what a contrast that is Juan Antonio Pizzi‘s players have shown us in the games leading up to this tournament, losing both of their last two warm-up games 2-0.
This is only the third time Wednesday has qualified for the knockout stages of his tournament, but he has only won the first match of the Asian Cup finals once before, in 2004 when the match ended in a 2-2 draw. They then defeated Uzbekistan in a penalty shootout (4-3). .
In the opening games of this tournament, Pearl Divers achieved something that no previous Bahraini team had been able to do: win back-to-back Asian Cup matches.
Bahrain have won their last five games in all competitions since scoring the opening goal, without conceding a single goal in that time.
Since defeating Samurai Blue 1-0 in January 2009, they have yet to defeat a Japanese team on the international stage.
©Reuters
In the third round, Japan won comfortably and advanced to the final tournament for the ninth consecutive tournament.
Although they conceded a goal to Indonesia with only a shot on target, Samurai Blue showed little signs of suffering, winning at least two games in the group stage of this tournament and achieving their eighth straight victory.
Japan has won the first round of the tournament in five of the past six times, with their only loss coming in a penalty shootout against the United Arab Emirates (5-4) in 2015.
After the record of 11 straight wins in official games came to an end in the second round against Iraq (losing 2-1), Hajime MoriyasuThe players looked more like themselves than they did against Indonesia, scoring three or more goals for the sixth time in their last seven meetings.
They have been an attacking powerhouse over the past few months, holding their opponents scoreless in three of the final four games of the Asian Cup finals.
Samurai Blue have won four of their last five matches against Bahrain, including a thrilling 4-3 overtime victory in the 2004 semi-finals. This is the only time these two teams met in the finals of this tournament.
Bahrain Asian Cup form:
Bahrain form (all competitions):
Japan Asian Cup format:
Japan form (all sports):
team news
©Reuters
Amin Benadi The 30-year-old missed last Thursday’s game against Bahrain as he was receiving treatment for a bruise he sustained in the first match against South Korea.
There were three new Bahrain players who started in the starting XI in the third round. abdullah al karashi, Jassim Al Shaikh and Abdullah Yusuf Helal Exchange Haza Ali, Moses Atede and abdullah al hashisash.
Yusuf Helal scored his 13th and only goal for the national team in the victory over Jordan. Ebrahim Lutfallah He stopped all three shots he faced, achieving his second straight clean sheet.
Kaoru Mitoma The Japanese representative missed the previous match as he is still recovering from an ankle injury. Takefusa Kubo and Wataru Endo These two players were the only players in the starting 11, starting in the match against Indonesia in Round 2.
Takuma Asano Samurai Blue can reach 50 caps on Wednesday Takehiro Tomiyasu Only 1 left until 40, Wataru Itakura is one place before 25.
braces Ayase Ueda And courtesy of Own Goal. Justin Hubner That was all the Japanese needed to defeat the Indonesians in the third round.
Bahrain’s projected starting lineup:
Lutfala. Adel, Bakel, Al-Khayyam, Ali. Al-Shaykh, Al-Wali. Madan, Al-Aswad, Marhoon.Yusuf Helal
Japanese starting lineup candidates:
Suzuki; Sugawara, Itakura, Tomiyasu, Ito. Endo, Morita; J. Ito, Kubo, Minamino.Ueda
We say: Bahrain 1 – 4 Japan
Japan may not have been as convincing in the early games of this tournament as we had hoped, but they know how to turn it on in these big games and are a must-win. I hope they understand that this is a tough game and will be even sharper in attack. game.
Bahrain have held their own throughout this tournament, but their lack of experience in these big matches will make it difficult for them to remain in a team rich in attacking options.
Click here for data analysis including the most likely outcome, scoreline and more for this match.